Everyone’s favorite Togruta Jedi is primed and ready to make her mark on Disney+ withAhsoka, andRosario Dawson’s big return to Star Warssees the titular hero facing off against some mysterious new enemies. Ahsoka Tano has been on an incredible journey throughout her time in theStar Warsfranchise. She was first introduced as an ambitious padawan prior to the Fall of the Jedi, then assisted a rag-tag band of rebels during the Reign of the Empire, before seeking out a dangerous foe following the dawn of the New Republic.
The era of the New Republic is whereAhsokatakes place, following her live-action debut inThe Mandalorianwhere she teamed up with the titular bounty hunter to take down the tyrannical magistrate, Moran Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto). While Ahsoka did want to free the magistrate’s town from her rule, the Jedi also had an ulterior motive, as Elsbeth has a much more sinister master in the elusive Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) - a ruthless and brilliant Imperial commander who has eluded Ahsoka for many years.
We only get a brief tease of Thrawn’s role inAhsokafollowing the release of the first trailerfor the anticipated series at Star Wars Celebration 2023, but it looks as though the Grand Admiral is far from the only threat in the series. The trailer alsointroduces two new characters in Baylon Skoll (Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno), both of whom wield red-colored lightsabers and are clearly force sensitive. If their sinister appearance wasn’t enough, Baylan and Shin facing off against various New Republic troopers seem to clearly indicate they’ll be villains in the series, but there are still many questions surrounding who these new enemies really are.
The Simple Explanation is Baylan and Shin are Sith Lords
The ultimate antithesis to the noble and just Jedi Order,the Sith are the definitive dark force in the galaxy. Though not every malignant force in theStar Warsuniverse is directly associated with a Sith Lord, there’s almost always at least one pulling the strings from behind the scenes. Certainly the most infamous Sith in the galaxy is Darth Sidious (Ian McDiarmid), also known as Emperor Palpatine, and while the dark leader of the Empire was seemingly defeated inReturn of the Jedi,Star Warsfans would find out years later that the dictator somehow returned during the events ofThe Rise of Skywalker. Palpatine’s exact whereabouts during the time of the New Republic are largely unknown, but it’s more than possible that he’s behind the scenes yet again and is spreading his influence through Grand Admiral Thrawn.
It’s more than possible that Baylan and Shin are simply Sith loyalists, being force-sensitive people who became attracted to the dark side religion. After all, they do seem to be practicing the “Rule of Two” - the Sith tenet that states that for every master, there is an apprentice, and vice versa. Baylan appears to be the mentor and Shin appears to be the student, but there are a couple of other details that indicate they may be something else entirely. For example, their lightsabers in particular seem rather unique, having more of an orange hue that’s quite different from the traditional Sith red. It’s a small detail, sure, but there are other Dark Side force users who aren’t technically considered Sith.
Baylan and Shin Could Be What’s Left of the Imperial Inquisitors
We got a bit more information on Shin Hati in particular atAhsoka’s panel at Star Wars Celebration 2023, with one detail being that she’s yet another former Jedi who survived Order 66. Typically, when a Jedi survives the infamous purge, they become one of two things - they spend the rest of their lives hiding from the Empire in exile, or they are tortured into submission and transformed into a fearsomeImperial Inquisitor.
Seen inStar Wars: Rebels,Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, andObi-Wan Kenobi, the Imperial Inquisitors are force-sensitive assassins who were forged for a single purpose - hunt and eliminate anyJedi that may have escaped Order 66. In Inquisition answers directly to Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) and, after going through a grueling process of torture and brainwashing, are given a new title with a number and either sister or brother. Each Inquisitor would also be given a lethal weapon in a standard issue spinning double-bladed lightsaber.
The Inquisitorius was presumed to be dissolved following the Empire’s fall, but we actually get to see an Inquisitor in theAhsokatrailer, though it’s unclear if they’re a villain we’ve seen in the past or a new assassin entirely. It’s possible that the masked figure could be either Baylan or Shin, but the individual is still using the classic Inquisitor lightsaber which is quite different from the ones we see the two dark side-users wield.
Could Baylan and Shin be Early Members of The Knights of Ren?
One of the most reclusive and mysterious organizations in theStar Warsgalaxy is easilyThe Knights of Ren. First introduced inThe Force Awakens, we see the Knights being led by Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) as they spread the might of the First Order throughout the Galaxy. However, while the group’s members have been repeatedly described in the lore as being force-sensitive, Kylo Ren is the only one who we’ve seen use a lightsaber and force abilities.
We still don’t know exactly when The Knights of Ren were founded, but their first canonical appearance was around the age of the New Republic. Looking at Baylan and Shin in the trailer, their uniforms and gear do seem to be similar to what we see from the Knights in the sequel trilogy. Their lightsaber colors in particular do look more similar to Kylo Ren’s signature cross guard blade than it does to more traditional dark-side weaponry. Baylan and Shin do technically mark the first two dark force users to appear in the timeline post-Return of the Jedi, so if this theory rings true, we may finally be getting a look at the origins of this contentious group of villains.
Baylan and Shin May Even Have a Connection to ‘Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order’
Compared to the three other possibilities listed above, this next section is a bit of a stretch, but hear us out.
AtAhsoka’s Star Wars Celebration panel, we also learned that Shin Hati has a connection to the Night Sisters - the Dathomir witches who wield the mysterious force “Magik”. The Night Sisters were almost entirely wiped out by General Grievous (Matthew Russell Wood) during the Clone Wars, but in the hit video gameJedi: Fallen Order, we learn that at least one Night Sister survived. The young girl Merrin (Tina Ivlev) then lived alone on the hostile planet of Dathomir before a dark Jedi named Taron Malicos (Liam McIntyre) arrived at the planet and started manipulating Merrin to learn more about Magik.
This would all occur during the Dark Times, before the events ofA New Hope, and Merrin would ultimately defeat the manipulative Malicos with the help of Jedi explorer, Cal Kestis (Cameron Monaghan). Malicos’s death seems pretty definitive, being buried alive by Merrin using Magik, but what if he somehow survived? After all, the character designs and appearances between Taron Malicos and Baylan Skoll seem strikingly similar. Even their voices sound somewhat similar, and while Ray Stevenson didn’t voice Malicos in the game, the actor has played differentStar Warscharacters before as he did with Mandalorian mercenary Gar Saxon.
Perhaps Malicos somehow escaped his tomb on Dathomir and used his knowledge on Magik to make a new disciple in Shin Hati with a new name of Baylan Skoll, but again, this is admittedly a bit of a stretch. Not only was Malicos' death pretty definitive, but theFallen Ordervillain used two lightsabers whereas Baylan seems to only use one. Plus, there’s not really much of a reason for the shadowy manipulator to change his name either. Still, given that manyStar Warsfans have expressed interest inseeing Fallen Order’s characters in live-action, this would be a pretty great nod to the fan-favorite game.
